With "Pokémon Go" taking the world by storm in a matter of days, many new trainers are bound to make mistakes. As someone who's been playing since the day it came out, and a trainer who has played each game from "Ruby" and "Sapphire" to "X&Y," along with a few side games like "Pokémon Conquest," here are some tips to make sure that your new adventure is as awesome and safe as possible.

1. Remember to pay attention to your surroundings.

This is probably the most important rule of all. There's a reason why they have this as one of the first things to pop up on your screen (the cartoon of the guy walking in to the lake with the Gyarados about ready to swallow him whole).

My tip is to bring something that will remind you of your surroundings. I've begun to make a habit of catching things while taking my dogs on walks. I've even begun to take them on more walks then usual because it doesn't feel like a chore anymore. However, they keep me grounded in reality.

If you don't have a dog, that's fine too. Maybe you could ask a neighbor, family member or a friend to go with you.

2. Not everyone will know what you're doing.

You might get some weird looks when you tell someone that you're catching Pokémon. They might wonder if they should call the local mental institution ASAP. However, if you're polite enough and keep your cool, just say it's an gaming app that just came out that and that you're sorry for interrupting their day, you should be fine. If they make a big deal out of it, just brush it off.

There are jerks in the world, don't let them drag you down on your adventure.

3. Check the weather.

Sure, I make fun of the weatherman as much or even more than the next girl for being inaccurate, but more often than not it's not raining men, it's just plain raining. Or hailing. Or thundering. Or snowing. Or maybe all of those if you live in Pittsburgh like me.

Remember to take an umbrella if it says that it might rain. Sure they might be wrong — but it's better safe than sorry.

Once you've checked the weather, make sure to dress accordingly. No going out in your PJs when the weatherman says there's a 35 percent chance of rain!

If it's really humid outside, remember to bring a water bottle. If you feel like you stop and sit down in some shade, don't be afraid to. Please, for the love of God and all things holy on this Earth, listen to your body. I'm sure if you went into a store or restaurant and just said that you wanted to sit down to escape the heat, they'd understand.

I'd also suggest that if it's really hot outside and you've just come back to your house after a hunt, put an ice pack a wet wash cloth on your face. Wait until late afternoon. Wash your face with cold water a lot.

4. Take other safety precautions.

I'm going to buy myself some Mace — in fact, I've been contemplating it for a while since my freshman year at Carlow, but now I'm starting to think that it might be a good idea. If you don't pay attention to your surroundings, chances are someone will try to take advantage of you. If you don't have the ability to buy Mace, other non-Pokémon self-defensive mechanisms are things like keys and pens can be used if you aim at the jugular. That makes them choke, leaving you with enough time to make your escape to a brightly-lit place like a store where you can explain what happened and have the police investigate.

Here's a video that has some awesome self-defense techniques:

And here's some more self-defense tips that I learned from my self-defense class in high school (one of the few things that I remember being actually useful that I learned in those four years of my life):

Don't go alone during the nighttime — if you do, always stay in groups of three or more.

Try your best to avoid areas like construction sites and alleyways, especially during the nighttime.

Try to stay in well-lit areas as much as possible.

Other things that I've learned to do when as a college girl is to look behind you as much as possible to make sure that someone isn't following you.

Here's a few other great articles to read more up on techniques and more tips about how to defend yourself from attackers:

http://lifehacker.com/5825528/basic-self-defense-m...

http://www.today.com/parents/self-defense-tips-wom...

Remember to use your intuition. If you suddenly get the feeling that something isn't quite right, you're probably onto something. Get out of there ASAP. Your safety always comes first.

5. Most of all, remember that this is all for fun!

Don't take this too seriously that you might put yourself in danger.

Remember that this is for fun, and that you should enjoy yourself with your fellow Pokémon trainers! Meet some new friends and catch up with some old ones that you haven't talked to in a while! Enjoy the summer!

That's it! Let's go catch 'em all!